Design of plant and equipment for the revaluation of solid waste

Abstract

This project presents the design, technical and economic evaluation of a food solid waste revaluation plant through the separation of food from its packaging and subsequent composting of the food waste; with a strong emphasis on the design of the unpacking equipment, which processes the containers so that they can later be recycled. Besides, the production of compost from organic solid waste is presented as a way of revaluation of the organic fraction, which replaces the most widely used method of waste disposal in our country, the landfill. Although composting does not offer great profits, as a counterpart it doesn’t have great associated costs and reduces the environmental impact compared with the most common method of waste disposal in the country, making it an attractive alternative. The project proposes to process 370 tons of food waste per month, generating 180 tons of compost per month, quality A or B. Regarding packaging, the alternatives analyzed for recycling were not economically viable, so it’s proposed to compact and dispose it on sanitary landfill. Although this isn’t the expected treatment, it reduces the environmental impact with respect to the disposal of the original waste. Finally, it is concluded that given the current conditions and the prices observed in the market, the project is technically but not economically viable.